what else do I need?

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MikeLopez2813

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I have an Alesis MultiMix 8 USB, cubase LE, a couple mics and i want to record drums, bass, guitar and vocals....What else am I going to need? Any other suggestions would also be greatly appreciated. thanks
 
I have an Alesis MultiMix 8 USB, cubase LE, a couple mics and i want to record drums, bass, guitar and vocals....What else am I going to need? Any other suggestions would also be greatly appreciated. thanks

You're going to need to be a bit more specific.

For example, are you looking to capture everything live? Go track by track with overdubs? What mics do you have?
 
sorry...yeah i wanted to go track by track, ive got a dyanmic mic similar to a sm58 and a sm beta 57. ive also got a usb mic that came with rock band
 
sorry...yeah i wanted to go track by track, ive got a dyanmic mic similar to a sm58 and a sm beta 57. ive also got a usb mic that came with rock band

If track-by-track will be your approach, here is my $.02.

Guitars -- assuming you've got a decent sounding rig, you should be all set with your dynamic mics. Make sure you experiment with mic placement to get a feel for how that influences the result (you'll be blown away by the difference you can get just by moving a mic a few inches). As a hint, avoid sticking the mic right in the center of the speaker as it tends to give a tinny, thin sound (unless of course that's what you're after). At least to start, I'd recommend sticking with single mics on the amp--you can do multi-mic setups but you have to be very wary of phase cancellation (take it from somebody who learned the hard way).

Bass -- you can plug the bass direct into your interface and get reasonably good results. If you're not happy with that, research the various direct boxes that might assist in getting a better tone. A trick that many use is to record two inputs for bass: direct, and a mic in front of the amp simultaneously. Then you can blend them as needed in the mix.

Vocals -- ideally, you'd have a nice condenser mic for the all-important vocals but good results can be had from dynamics as well. I think it will really depend on the quality of the preamps on your interface. Note: I've found that condenser mics are a lot more forgiving when using entry level preamps.

Drums -- this will probably be your biggest challenge with the equipment you have. You've got the snare and the kick covered with your dynamics, but you'll need at least a pair of overheads for the rest. Ideally, I think they'd be matched condensers.

Best of luck
MattDee
 
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